Is it better to hang Shujin on the wall or use it daily？

Two months ago,i visited the museum of Yunjin, the Cloud Brocades, in Nanjing.I was amazed by the big 4-meter-high loom that needs to be operated by two workers. At the same time, let alone those delicate fabrics that were woven with golden threads.

One month ago,i visited the museum of Shujin, the Sichuan brocades, in my hometown Chengdu. It was quite interesting learning the developing history of the patterns of Chinese brocades, especially Shujin.

At the end of the visit, in order to support the continuity of the local craftsmanship, i spend nearly two hundred dollars for just a piece of Shujin fabric. That’s not even bigger than my hand.

After the visit, i begin to think about a question. Why are they all woven paintings now?

In my humble opinion, price may be the biggest reason driving this change.

Following the disappearance of the Royal family and the noble class, Chinese brocades lost their primary consumers for daily usage. And as an effort adapting to the rule of the market, the craftsman chose to reposition Chinese brocades as a form of artistic decoration. But is this the death sentence for Chinese brocades as a functional fabric?

I discover that Shujin could be produced with the machine of roughly the same quality as hand-woven ones. And guess what, the price is much more affordable. It’s just too unknown to the public.So I have a new plan. I found a shop on Taobao that produce machine Shujin. I let my mother to choose the fabric she likes which caused me roughly 30 dollars per meter.

After mailing it home, I sent it to the clothing factory to make several cushion covers.After nearly twenty days of preparation and waiting the outcome was satisfactory.Besides the souvenir I bought from the museum of Shujin. We now have more Shujin items that can be used in everyday life. The entire cost is just half the price i paid for the hand-woven on.

Although machines wove the fabric.At least Shujin is serving it’s original purpose again.

So, what do you think? Is it better to hang Shujin on the wall or use it daily?